Tokyo's PM fails to soothe Seoul

The Japanese prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, expressed remorse yesterday for his country's brutal colonisation of South Korea, but his fence-mending visit to Seoul was marred by protests, a cancelled meeting, and sharp words from his host, President Kim Dae-jung.

Mr Koizumi laid a wreath at the national cemetery and became the first Japanese prime minister to visit Seoul's Independence Park, which commemorates Korea's struggle against the 1910-1945 rule by its neighbour.

"I looked at the museum displays, including scenes of torture, with a feeling of heartfelt remorse and sorrow over the great pain and suffering inflicted on South Koreans by Japan's colonial rule," he said.

The statement was meant to allay fears in the region that Mr Koizumi's rightwing policies may take Japan back on to the path of militarism. But it was little changed from previous apologies and was not enough to placate protesters, who burned an effigy of the prime minister.

"What is the use of 100 apologies. One real action to back up an apology is important," said Yang Mi-gang, the leader of a group supporting the claims of women forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese imperial army.

The threat of protests in parliament by the opposition party forced Mr Koizumi to cancel a visit to the speaker of the national assembly.

Mr Koizumi has enraged South Korea and China by refusing to alter a textbook that critics say whitewashes Japan's wartime atrocities. In August, he added fuel to the row by visiting the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, which honours war criminals as well as millions of fallen soldiers.

He is now pushing legislation that would give Japan's military its most prominent overseas role since the second world war. It could send ships and personnel to provide medical treatment, supplies, transport and other non-combatant support to the US in its struggle against terrorism.

Mr Koizumi told Mr Kim: "We don't want you to misinterpret this as a revival of militarism."

Mr Kim expressed a cautious understanding of Japan's position in the current conflict, but urged Japan to follow Germany's "proper handling" of its wartime past. He said Mr Koizumi should match his words with deeds "concretely and publicly".

Seoul wants Mr Koizumi to refrain from further visits to the shrine and to reconsider his stance on the history textbooks ahead of next year's World Cup football finals, co-hosted by the two countries.